DePaul University Athletics
DePaul Wins Moran Realty Classic
12/7/2002 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Boxscore
CHICAGO – After a season-opening five-game road trip, the DePaul women’s basketball team returned to the friendly confines of the DePaul Athletic Center and convincingly won the Moran Realty Classic on Saturday night. The Blue Demons knocked off the Bobcats, 85-5, and Khara Smith was named tournament’s MVP.
The game opened as a lay-up and three-point contest with the Blue Demons taking the early advantage. DePaul nailed five consecutive three-pointers while the Bobcats had four straight lay-ins to open the game.
Jenni Dant’s driving jumper in the lane ended the Blue Demons streak from long range and made the score 17-10 at 14:54. Sarah Kustok followed with a lay-up and Dant hit two free throws to up the lead to 21-10.
Montana State’s Brandi Lewis had the Bobcats first trey that closed the gap to 21-13. From that point, DePaul scored the game’s next eight points and took a 29-13 lead with just under 10 minutes. The run was fueled by the Smith’s, as Charlene started the run with a steal and lay-up and was followed by buckets by Khara and Jamie.
The Bobcats cut the lead to 36-25 when Laura Sobieszczyk knocked down DePaul’s seventh three of the half to put DePaul back up, 39-25. After a Montana State turnover, Sobieszczyk struck again forcing Bobcat head coach Robin Potera-Haskins to take a timeout. Following the break, the Blue Demons held Montana State to just four points over the final 4:24.
The Blue Demons equaled their largest lead of the half at 19 points on a follow of a missed free throw by Khara Smith. Smith’s bucket was answered by Montana State’s Isabel Stubbs with a jumper at the buzzer that made the score 46-29 at halftime.
The second half opened with the two teams trading baskets. Montana State trimmed the deficit to 13 points on two occasions, but DePaul increased the lead to 22 points on a spin move and jumper by Jenni Dant at 14:44. Elyse Mengarelli ended the 11-0 DePaul run with a three-pointer with just under 13 minutes left in the game.
DePaul followed Mengarelli’s three with eight straight points to build a 71-42 lead. Luke started the run with a three and then found Charlene Smith with a behind-the-back pass for a fast break lay-up.
The Blue Demons took their largest lead of the game at 4:40 on a pair of free throws by Casmir Patterson that made the score 79-44.
Khara Smith led the Blue Demons with game-high’s of 14 points and seven rebounds. She was named the tourney’s MVP after posting a double-double against Loyola on Friday night. Dant scored 13 points while Luke chipped in 11 and Charlene Smith added 10 points.
Charlene Smith and Luke joined Khara Smith on the all-tournament team. Others on the all-tournament team included Isabel Stubbs (Montana State), Katie Terhune (Boston U.) and Ciara Henderson (Loyola-Chicago).
Up next for the Blue Demons is a Wednesday night matchup with Notre Dame. Tipoff at the DePaul Athletic Center is set for 7 p.m.